LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 157

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District and Congregational Services
Greek, and Hebrew confessional Lutheran scholars met at Camp
Trinity (Missouri) to consider the suggested revisions; and
Whereas, Some 25 confessional Lutheran scholars from
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Concordia Theological Seminary,
Fort Wayne; Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon; Bethany
Lutheran Seminary, Mankato, MN; and elsewhere helped prepare a revision of Beck’s New Testament AAT known as the New
Evangelical Translation (NET); and
Whereas, Before CN published the fourth edition of the AAT, it
invited the professors at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne; Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary,
Mequon; and Bethany Lutheran Seminary, Mankato, MN, to send in
suggestions for revisions; and
Whereas, Christian News, New Haven, MO, in December
2000, published the fourth edition of Dr. Beck’s AAT incorporating
improvements from the New Evangelical Translation under the direction of John Drickamer, an English language scholar; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2010 LCMS convention authorize the publication of an orthodox Christian translation of the Bible by confessional
Lutheran scholars from confessional Lutheran church bodies; and
be it further
Resolved, That An American Translation of the Bible be used as
the basis for this orthodox Christian translation.
Trinity
New Haven, MO
2-11

To Instruct CPH to Stop Using ESV
Whereas, Concordia Publishing House is beginning to use the
English Standard Version in all its publications; and
Whereas, Communicating the Word of God as we read Scripture
is central to who we are as the church of Jesus Christ; and
Whereas, The English Standard Version is frequently awkward
to read orally in public settings; and
Whereas, The language of the English Standard Version is often
difficult for children in elementary schools to understand; and
Whereas, The New International Version is a translation that is
commonly in use by our Christian friends in this country, is easily
read in public, and uses a vocabulary that is understood by elementary school students; therefore be it
Resolved, That Concordia Publishing House be instructed to stop
using the English Standard Version for future publications, especially when the intent is for it to be used in public oral reading; and
be it further
Resolved, That future publications for Lutheran schools
and Sunday Schools use a simpler translation such as the New
International Version; and be it finally
Resolved, That future publications intended for public reading use
a translation that is easier to read orally in public.
St. John
Country Club Hills, IL
2-12

To Appoint Commission to Study Congregational
Size, Generations, and Life-Stage Ministries
Whereas, Scripture encourages an intra- and intergenerational
concern for God’s people, especially as they cluster in Christian communities sometimes also known as congregations; and
Whereas, This concern is the same no matter where these clusters
develop or whatever their generational makeup is at the moment; and

157

Whereas, Such concern is reflective of the mind of Christ and is
integral to His mission mandate to reach out to all; and
Whereas, Our society is in a time of generational flux and institutional crisis on a broad range; and
Whereas, Our church body has a sizeable potential within the
ranks of its laity and professional workers for addressing a legitimate concern for both congregations and generations; therefore be it
Resolved, That our Synod President appoint a commission to study
and make recommendations relating to our changing world and to
the twenty-first century ministry of churches of differing size; and
be it further
Resolved, That this commission especially study the scriptural
scope of and directives concerning intra- and intergenerational ministry; and be it further
Resolved, That this commission consider the implications of its
study as they apply to congregations of different size in different political/social/economic locales and congregations of different cultural
makeup; and be it further
Resolved, That this commission share its findings with congregations as soon as they are appropriate for congregational application
and consideration; and be it further
Resolved, That this commission prepare recommendations to
strengthen our church’s ministry in these two areas of concern; and
be it finally
Resolved, That, as it does its work, this commission regularly
report through the Synod’s President to the Board of Directors and
the Council of Presidents as it prepares its findings and recommendations for the next LCMS convention.
St. Paul, Aurora, IL; St. Paul, Weston, FL; Holy Cross, Ft. Wayne,
IN; Circuit 13 West, Southeastern District; Board of Directors,
Southeastern District
2-13

To Appoint a Study/Action Commission
regarding Congregational Size, Generations,
and Life-Stage Ministries
Preface and Rationale
How the LCMS Faced New Challenges in Its First Centuries
Any suggestion that The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
hasn’t/won’t/can’t adapt to a changing world is categorically contradicted by its history from when the earliest Saxon segment of our
ancestry arrived here in the late 1830s until now. For nearly two centuries , our Synod worked its way through innumerable immigrant and
language challenges, through nearly a dozen wars, through regularly
recurring economic depressions, through the explosive expansion of
our nation and the opening of the West, and—most consequential of
all—through our nation’s swing from an overwhelmingly agricultural
social order to an industrial power. The Synod was deeply involved
all the way. The challenge of change has been a steady diet, making
it all the more remarkable that today, in the first decade of the twentyfirst century, the LCMS stands as the oldest extant Lutheran body of
size in America, change notwithstanding. Impossible?
All of that is not so much something about which to boast as it
is something for us to acknowledge with thanks to God. Under His
sure hand, our ancestors faced and dealt with a constantly changing
world and did so with little fanfare. Though seldom in the vanguard
of national or international changes, they came to grip with whatever
arose while clinging to two core convictions:
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